Global emissions of carbon dioxide mainly from fossil fuel burning will rise 2.7 percent in 2018, scientists said Wednesday, signalling a world "completely off course" in the fight against climate change.

In particular, "the trends have a lot to do with the ups and downs of coal use in China", Le Quere told journalists in Paris.

To limit warming to 1.5˚C, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently recommended greenhouse gas emissions be reduced 45 percent by 2030 and further reduced to net zero emissions by 2050.

According to the report, global emissions were dominated in 2017 by emissions from China, with 27 percent, followed by the USA with 15 percent, the European Union with 10 percent and India with 7 percent.

The report identified an increased number of cars on the road and a rise in coal use globally as the major contributing factors.

Global fossil Carbon dioxide emissions (fossil fuels, industry and cement) grew at over three per cent per year in the 2000s, but growth has slowed since 2010, and from 2014 to 2016 emissions remained relatively flat with only a slight increase.

China's emissions accounted for 27 percent of the global total, and will likely show growth of 4.7 percent in 2018.

They are urging countries to take tougher measures against global warming as they aim to reach an agreement on rules for the 2015 Paris climate change accord.

Global carbon dioxide emissions rise to new record high in 2018

Use of coal - the biggest carbon emitter - is rising.

The UNFCCC presented a new report at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) here that highlights both progress and gaps as developed countries implement climate actions to meet their targets in the period before 2020. Gas use has grown nearly unabated in recent years.

"It is not enough to support renewables", she added.

Under that accord, almost 200 governments have committed to limit the rise in global temperatures to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times.

Thousands of businesses in 120 countries had signed up to the Paris goals, which could bring $26 trillion in economic benefits, including 65 million new jobs in what she called the "booming" low carbon economy. Renewable energy costs have dropped by 80% in a decade, and today, over half of all new energy generation capacity is renewable.

"The continued rise in global emissions is of utmost concern". The reason was the return to strong global economic growth. The new rise is due to robust growth in oil use of about 1.4 per cent, associated with an increase in vehicle journeys, and gas of about 7.6 per cent. Emissions from coal use look set to have decreased by around -2.1 per cent in 2018, continuing a shift away from coal, with a 40 per cent decrease in Carbon dioxide emissions from coal since 2007, mainly towards gas, and more recently also towards renewables for power generation. The amount of fuel used for road transport and flights has surged by around 4 per cent in the EU.

He said with droughts, heatwaves, floods and storms causing mayhem across the world in 2018 the fact "emissions are actually increasing this year shows the greater urgency that governments need to show".

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